Marcus Williams’ 3-pointer with 1.2 seconds remaining lifted Texas A&M to an 81-79 win over host Georgia in both team’s Southeastern Conference opener on Tuesday night in Athens, Ga.
Williams’ game-winning shot from the right wing came after Kario Oquendo’s 3-point play had given Georgia its first lead of the game with 5.5 seconds left after the Bulldogs had trailed by 17 points with less than 18 minutes remaining.
Noah Baumann’s 3-point attempt for Georgia (5-9, 0-1) fell short as time expired.
Williams scored 18 points on 7-for-12 shooting, including 4-for-7 from beyond the arc, but none was bigger than his last shot for the Aggies (12-2, 1-0). On his final play, he dribbled up the court before pulling up from the right wing and knocking down the game-winning shot.
Henry Coleman III added a game-high 23 points on 8-for-11 shooting, and grabbed seven rebounds, while Wade Taylor IV chipping in 10 points for the Aggies, who have won five straight games.
Oquendo scored a team-high 21 points on 9-for-12 shooting for Georgia, which got 19 from Baumann, who shot 7-for-14 from the field and made five of his 10 attempts from beyond the arc. Braelen Bridges added 12 for Georgia, which has dropped three straight games.
The Bulldogs pulled to within 70-69 on Oquendo’s 3-point play with 5:05 left, but the Aggies responded by scoring the next five points and had the game in control until Oquendo’s 3-point play.
The Aggies led by as many as 18 points in the first half en route to taking a 46-34 lead at intermission.
The Aggies shot 50 percent (30-for-60) from the field, including 47.8 percent (11-for-23) from beyond the arc, in addition to scoring 25 points off 16 Georgia turnovers.
Georgia shot 51.8 percent (29-for-56) from the field and 35 percent (7-for-20) from 3-point range, but the Bulldogs were outscored 40-30 in the paint and were outrebounded 31-28.
Texas A&M had nine of its 10 players who took the court in the opening half score. Coleman III scored 11 points on 5-for-6 shooting and Wade IV added nine points that he recorded by going 3-for-5 from beyond the arc.
–Field Level Media
